Friday, August 22, 2014

2014 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day

Ajay Nair
Department of Horticulture
Iowa State University

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2014 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day at the Horticulture Research Station on 11th August, 2014. Everyone had a great time ! The Field Day featured research-based information on a variety of topics in fruit and vegetable production and the opportunity for real-time assessment of ongoing research.


The Bee Research Lab enlightened the audience about the life cycle of Paper Wasp and how they build their hives. You would be surprised to know that paper wasps are particular about the type of paper and also the color of the paper. The sustainable vegetable production lab showcased various ongoing research projects on cover crops, high tunnel production, organic broccoli production, potato, sweet potato, and asparagus production. Apple root stock evaluation trials and grape cultivar trials were also thoroughly enjoyed by the participants. Thank you to Nick Howell, Farm Superintendent, and his crew who did an excellent job in grilling those juicy pork burgers  for dinner. The final blow came in the form of Homemade Ice cream that was prepared by ISU Research and Demonstration Farm staff ! Muchas gracias ! Enjoy some pictures from the Field Day.











Thursday, August 21, 2014

Differentiate between crabgrass and witchgrass

Ajay Nair
Department of Horticulture
Iowa State University

Wonder how many times you have been out in your plot/field/garden and scratched your head looking at grassy weeds especially crabgrass and all other grass weeds that look exactly the same. Let us help you out a bit. Check this video by Ray Kruse, graduate student in my lab, explaining the difference between crabgrass and witchgrass. Click the link below:

http://youtu.be/WSQdfNHmwv0

Have a great growing season
Best,
Ajay Nair